New Chinese ambassador Wu Peng arrived in Nairobi six weeks ago and even before settling down, was sucked into the maelstrom of Kenya’s failure to secure funding for the final phase of the Standard Gauge Railway onward to Kisumu.
Mr Wu travelled to Beijing for the second Bridge and Road Initiative Forum where expectations locally were high that President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga would bring good tidings on SGR funding, only to return empty-handed.
From his office at the Chinese Embassy, Mr Wu spoke to MACHARIA GAITHO on SGR and other issues around Kenya-China relations.
MACHARIA GAITHO: There were expectations that the President’s China visit would secure funding for the Naivasha-Kisumu phase of the railway. It didn’t happen and the government later said the issue was not on the agenda. At what stage was that funding dropped from the agenda?
WU PENG: I really don’t know where those expectations came from. Funding for Naivasha-Kisumu SGR was not on the agenda. The Kenya government is focused on operations of Mombasa-Nairobi SGR. This is a smart and responsible move from your government.
SGR was from inception planned to extend across the Uganda border and maybe even to serve Rwanda and DR Congo. Might terminating at Naivasha kill the project vision and make it less viable?